Digital video cameras can be used for restricted area access control, time and attendance recording and computer network access control, video surveillance and other applications requiring personal identification to access entitlements, benefits or a service. These applications are known as “secure access” applications and shall be referred to in that manner throughout this document. Personal identification using a biometric for secure access is an emerging field. The prior art camera apparatus and methods of camera control used in secure access are represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,934 granted on Jan. 3, 1983; U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,517 granted on Aug. 29, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,806 granted on Jan. 14, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,777 granted on Feb. 13, 2001; and, U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,706 granted on Jan. 9, 2001.
The prior art enabled the use of various biometric parameters such as facial features, knuckle features and iris scans to identify individuals and either grant or deny them access to a restricted place. These systems require the capture of a high fidelity image and the comparison of the captured image with a plurality of stored images. Less than ideal ambient lighting conditions at the time of image capture and movement of the individual being verified often results in the verification process failing due to an inability to match the target image with the stored image. As well, a large amount of memory storage and computing processing power is required to compare a target image with thousands of stored images and can result in several seconds being required per individual using the prior art. This renders the prior art either too slow or totally unable to operate in access control applications where personnel traffic is high.
The disadvantages and limitations associated with the prior art apparatus relate to the fact that they cannot produce a high-fidelity image of the target suitable for biometric comparisons in situations where the ambient lighting is not ideal or varies. The contrast between the background and the target face may cause the target face to be saturated by light or too dark. The prior art apparatus cannot scan the target individual, produce a biometric template and execute a biometric comparison with thousands of stored images fast enough to be of practical use in secure access applications. The prior art apparatus cannot be installed in remote locations as stand-alone units because it requires access to storage media and processing power, neither of which is necessarily available in remote locations.
Secure access applications require an apparatus and method that is capable of rendering a high-fidelity image of the target individual suitable for biometric comparisons using facial recognition where ambient lighting is not ideal or varies. The apparatus must be capable of comparing a target image with either one image in a one-to-one application, or thousands of stored images in a one-to-many application and capable of being installed in remote locations with onboard memory and processing capacity. The camera apparatus must be small enough and inexpensive to manufacture so that it can be installed at a plurality of remote locations. Target scanning and identity verification must take place within one second in order for such apparatus and method to be useful in secure access applications.